Do it Yourself Repairs – Are They Really Cheaper?

Is it worth it to do a Do It Yourself iPhone repair instead of having it professionally done?  This article will examine the costs and the benefits of the two.  Hopefully, this will make it easier to decide between doing a repair yourself and having it done professionally by the cast at iFixYouri.

We all know that going with the Do It Yourself (which will now be shortened to “DIY”) route is seemingly cheaper.  At least, it appears that way in theory.  Of course, once everything is said and done, one might find that the DIY repair costs more money, time, and effort than it would have cost by using a  professional.  Moreover, it’s possible to permanently damage the device, rendering it unfixable.

What are the reasons? First, time alone is a major issue.  Most people obviously have little to no experience repairing iPhones or iPods and DIY repairs can be timely without the practice.  An average iPhone glass repair can easily take one to two hours.  Now, the more a person does something, the more familiar he or she gets with the process and the quicker they get at doing it.  Yet, the first time someone attempts to repair a broken screen (for example) they should be ready to spend well over an hour.  Other repairs, such as replacing a back cover, can take four or more hours.

Next, effort is going to play a major role.  It’s true that the effort put into learning how to repair an iPhone is wonderful.  A person can learn a lot while dissecting their very own device.  That person should keep in mind that he is the owner of that device and therefore, has to deal with whatever the outcome.  None of these repairs are easy by any means.  When the phone is laying there in pieces, screws scattered about, parts spread out, it will be hard to put it back together correctly.  So, a DIY person must take his or her time and pay close attention to every little detail.

The last thing to consider is money.  Money is the most important factor in our decision of choosing a DIY repair over a professional repair.  The initial cost of the DIY kit/part will be cheaper than having it repaired by an business.  This is simply because the labor and service costs are no longer present.  Again, it is wise to keep in mind that these repairs are difficult and there are many parts that can be broken or damaged while performing a DIY repair.  This leads to a new problem, whereas the original problem with the device may have been a quick repair.  When a part gets damaged or broken, it will inevitably lead to more time and effort, which means more money spent on the new problem.  Anyone who has broken an iPhone knows how fragile they are.  They are just as fragile once disassembled.

In conclusion, DIY repairs are perfectly fine for a person who has experience repairing iPhones and can confidently fix them.  If the person who chooses to do a DIY repair is fortunate enough to have a few broken iPhones laying around, he can experiment with those and then try tackling his primary phone.  However, for the majority of people who are inexperienced yet want confidence that the broken device will work like new with the least amount of hassle, please get it professionally done.  It will save your time, effort and money.

Insurance for Your iPhone…Not Great for Everyone

iPhone Insurance

Early in 2010, AT&T announced that they would offer an insurance plan to cover all new iPhones.  The plan would cost you $11.99 per month, and must be signed within 30 days of purchasing a new iPhone.  The announcement was great news to iPhone owners who have been dismayed by the lack of an insurance option for their devices.  To me, this proclamation lost its shimmer once I thought about what a bad deal this is.

First, let’s talk about what insurance really is.  It is peace of mind, simply put.  You agree to pay money to a company and receive no product or service in return.  All you receive is a promise that the insurer will pay in the event of a loss.  Often times, the losses can be enormous (e.g., a flood, sudden death or home fire).  Yet, because these events are statistically unlikely to happen and the insurance companies know it, the cost of such peace of mind comes at a low enough cost to be a good value.

What if some sort of loss occurs more frequently (a cracked iPhone screen or an auto accident by a teenager, for instance)?  What does an insurance company do to account for that?  Well, they price the premiums higher because there is a higher likelihood that a loss will occur.  If the insurance company does not price the premiums high enough, the insurance company will go out of business.

So, how much does peace of mind cost for a $600 or $700 iPhone that break more often and cost more than many other smart-phones?  Well, it’s a price that I don’t believe is a good bargain.  First of all, at $11.99, the premiums alone are $287.76 for the duration of a two-year contract.  In addition, if you have a iPhone 4 with any size memory or an iPhone 3Gs with memory over 16GB, you must pay a deductible of $199 to replace your damaged device before you can get a replacement.  That added together is $486.76.  That’s a huge amount of money to insure a phone that costs $700 for the most expensive 4th Generation iPhone on the market and $600 for the next model down.  3Gs iPhones cost even less to replace.

Why not, instead of paying such a high premium for insurance, take advantage of iFixYouri?  You can fix a cracked 4th Generation iPhone screen for $109.  We even sell fully refurbished iPhone 3G’s for $149.  And you saved $11.99 a month.

The bottom line is that before you let yourself get talked into insurance by a sales representative, make sure this peace of mind is worth the cost according to your own lifestyle.  Measure the cost against the risk.  The sales rep gets commissions for selling insurance and will always recommend it.  They do not repair the devices and therefore does not make any money if customers know they can get their phone repaired elsewhere.  The price of the monthly premium adds up and if you are a person who typically doesn’t break electronics or lose things, then your money is wasted.

iPhone 5 repair services are starting to roll out

With the up and coming release of the iPhone 4S or iPhone 5, we’ve been preparing to begin offering service in order to fit your needs. From iPhone 5 screen repair, to iPhone 5 water damage repair, trust that we’ll be here to support you and your accidents.

The new iPhone 5 parts are starting to coming out, and as they come out, we’ll be offering the repairs for whatever may be wrong with your device.

Apple is truly amazing at sparking hype and conversation amongst the general population. We’ve noticed that as new products are starting to come out, they do not do any marketing, yet everyone is talking about the newest and latest devices that is “supposedly” coming out.

The economy is tough, the job market is bleak, yet Apple has towered as being at one point, more wealthy that the oil giant Exxon, and having more gas on hand than the US government. Something does not seem right here. You know what it is? It’s people’s addiction to technology, and buying new stuff. No matter how broke and in the hole society may be, there will be those who will buy technology, get the latest gear, break the latest gear, and be in need to get, in this next case, an iPhone 5 repair.

Our guesses are that the newest iPhone 4S/5 will have the following:

-Same screen

-Higher MP Camera, probably 8MP

-A5 processor

-Slight back redesign

It should be faster than the iphone 4, and have a better camera. Kind of like the 3G to 3Gs upgrade. We’ll just have to wait and see.

Have a question about the latest device? Hit us up, we’ll be happy to help.

Why Repairing your iPhone is Always Worth the Cost

Many people question if it’s worth the money to repair a damaged iPhone.  I am here to dispel any rumors and clear up any misunderstanding that people have when it comes to the value of the iPhone and the cost efficiency of the repairs.  The truth is that it is always wise to repair a broken iPhone, even if you are going to trade or sell it.

First, some basic facts about how much an iPhone really costs.  As many readers know, an iPhone’s true cost is not the price you actually paid for it at the AT&T, Verizon, or Apple store when you sign a new two year contract.  The price you paid when you signed a contract is actually a subsidized price, so what you paid is reduced by the company since you are agreeing to be with them for at least two years.  You can also be granted this price if you are eligible for an upgrade, which is usually available every 12 to 20 months depending upon the company.  The true retail price of the current 4th Generation iPhone, if you were to go into an AT&T, Verizon, or Apple store and not sign a contract, is $600 for a 16gb and $700 for a 32gb.  For a 3Gs iPhone with 8gb of memory, be prepared to hand over around $500.

AT&T does offer something called an “Early Upgrade” with iPhones.  This allows the customer to purchase a new iPhone before their next upgrade date by signing a new two year contract.  For the new contract, you would get a different subsidized price and the Early Upgrade prices are pretty high.  For a 4th Generation iPhone, you will pay $400 for a 16gb iPhone, and $500 for a 32gb iPhone.

The frustrating part for iPhone repair companies is that most people have no clue their phone is actually repairable in almost all cases.  Customers who bring their broken devices into an Apple, AT&T or Verizon store looking for a solution are led to believe that they have only one option, which is to purchase a new phone at high prices.  Of course, this is money in the bank for these companies.  If your device was lost or stolen, the only way to replace it is to buy a new one, however, there is no reason to take that kind of loss on an iPhone that is merely damaged.  Repairing your iPhone is completely worth your money.  Anything else would be like buying a new car because you got into a minor traffic accident.  In reality, almost all repairs for the iPhone 3G, 3Gs and 4th generation can be done for less that $100.  that mean you can save over $200 if you repair your existing iPhone rather than agree to an early upgrade.

What if your current iPhone is broken, but you are eligible for an upgrade and able to buy a new iPhone 4 at the $200 – $300 with a new two year contract?  Is it still worth the money to repair the broken iPhone even though you can upgrade it?  Absolutely.  You could invest in repairing your current device and then sell it for the same price, if not more than an iPhone 4 at the subsidized price.  These used phones, undamaged and in working condition, sell for for over $200.  By not repairing the damaged iPhone, you are either going to discard a used device worth over $200, or you are going to give it to a third party who will repair it and possibly resell it.

No matter what, it is always economical to repair a damaged device in any situation, even if you are doing so just to sell it.

And the winner of the iFixYouri and 9to5mac.com repair contest is….

Denise Chase. The iFixyYouri iPhone repair shop and 9to5Mac will be fixing your iPad for free! For those who didn’t win this time around, we will be picking another winner next Friday! Here are the rules:


In order to enter the contest, retweet this post on Twitter with hashtag #HelpiFixYouriand a picture of your broken iDevice for a chance to win. If the story about your broken device requires more than what a tweet can share, send an email off to [email protected] or like and share it on our Facebook page.

A winning contestant will be randomly selected each week. You are only allowed to enter once and a winner can only win one time. If it is determined that your device is irreparable (and doesn’t start in Blend-Tec condition), iFixYouri iPhone repair and 9to5mac will replace the device with a good working equivalent! (also no iPod shuffles or nanos are eligible)

You will also need to follow both iFixYouri and 9to5Mac on Twitter so we can DM you in case you win. Just a hint, send in high-quality pictures of your device.

Tales of a technician – Hold on! You did what?

“I dropped it from the third story of a building” was his calm reply. Geoff owns a general contracting firm in the Boston area and had the unfortunate occurrence of dropping his iPad 2. A physics experiment testing the rate of gravity, 9.8m/s^2 for trivia purposes, is usually at hand when an object is dropped from about 30 feet in the air. Both he and I were surprised that the shattered screen and a couple of dents were the only affliction it possessed. I told him it would only take about 2 hours to have it fixed and ready to go. When he returned, the only evidence of the tragic events that had transpired earlier in the day were a couple of scratches on the aluminum frame of the device. Not only did Geoff not have to risk cutting himself on the shattered glass, he did not have to replace his iPad 2 and saved at least $200 in the process.

Sorry for the poor picture quality….
broken ipad

Tales of a technician – Spiffy in a jiff

We here at iFixYouri understand the importance of your phone. We now live in a world where possessing a smartphone is becoming a mandatory accessory. Take for instance, the story of Michelle. Michelle is a part of a huge public relations firm and being without her phone is not an option. I received her frantic phone call just as I was about to close up shop for the evening. She explained that she had an accident with a good amount of soda and her iPhone was fading fast. Also, she was only in town for the evening, as she had to leave on another business trip the following morning. She rushed over and arrived around 6:30pm. After discussing her timetable while she was in Boston, I agreed to meet her back at the shop at 8am to see if we could resurrect her phone for her. Morning arrived and I decided to get to the store a bit early, just in case there were any complications. After having run her phone for water damage the night before and replacing the LCD that morning, she was fixed up and ready to go. When she arrived, her phone was ready and she was ecstatic. Not only was her phone ready in less than 24 hours, she did not have to replace any of her data and it was cheaper than she was expecting.

Written by Rob Walker of iFixYouri.com

Smartphone, Tablet and Computer Repairs and News